STATEMENT

I find the growing merger of rural and suburban environments provides' interesting juxtapositions of objects and spaces from which to respond via drawing and printmaking. My recent work is based upon transitory observations and memories of these synthetically altered landscapes. Ordinary objects inexorably linked to these environments have informed my work, functioning as private metaphors for concerns of consumption and land modification. In these artificial combinations of natural and manufactured environments I discover visual analogs for complex social, economic and environmental issues. In a premeditated manner, I attempt to create similar circumstances in my studio practice.

My images are secured within the means of various drawing and printmaking processes, wherein, a physical and visual history is retained, due to the nature of the media. An essential result of this activity is an abundance of visual “left-overs”. Accumulated failures and accidents on paper acquire involuntary information and serve as visual, physical and conceptual foundations for a vocabulary of invented objects.

BIOGRAPHY

Jon Swindler recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Art at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia in Athens, where he teaches introductory through advanced level printmaking courses.
Born in Pratt, Kansas in 1976, Jon was raised on his family’s wheat farm, which provided both employment and formative experiences for nearly 20 years. In 1999, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in printmaking and art education from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. Jon continued his education at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where in 2003 he received a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking and drawing. From 2004-2008, Jon also served as an Assistant Professor at Wright State University in Dayton OH.
Over the last several years, Jon has exhibited his work in numerous solo, competitive and invitational exhibitions throughout the United States and Canada. He has also performed visiting artist workshops at various institutions, including: The Art Academy of Cincinnati, Auburn University and Penn State University. Jon resides in Winder, GA with his wife Stephanie and son Willem.